


we'll give the world to you (and you'll blow us all away)

by lavi0123



Series: lavi does maiko halloweek 2020 [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (don't kill me comics fans I promise it's only like two paragraphs), (there's a reason she was born on a more "favorable" day than him), F/M, Fall Maiko Week 2020, Prompt: Izumi, anything involving fire nation politics is based on the wiki, no beta we die like lu ten, slightly critical of the atla comics, so if something's wrong then blame them XD, the parallels between zuko and izumi are intentional, yes maiko got married soon after the coronation fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27296038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavi0123/pseuds/lavi0123
Summary: “Thoughtful as always. That sounds like the Mai I know and love.”“Getting sappy on me? Save that for Izzy.”“Hello, my little turtleduck. Don’t mind your mother. She loves us, really.”“Debatable.”Or: Zuko and Mai dodge the "so when are you having kids?" conversation in about five different ways, things calm down, Izumi is born, and Zuko's going to kill the next person who proposes infanticide. Oh, and turtleducks
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: lavi does maiko halloweek 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990834
Comments: 25
Kudos: 94
Collections: Fall Maiko Week 2020





	we'll give the world to you (and you'll blow us all away)

Neither Mai nor Zuko had happy childhoods. Mai’s parents were neglectful at best, and Zuko’s mother was long gone, while his father was abusive. Suffice to say, they had no experience with parenting other than what they saw of Sokka and Katara’s relationship with their dad, and while they were happy for their friends, they were also a little jealous and didn’t quite understand it.

So, when the Fire Sages first brought up the idea of having kids, a few days after their impulse wedding, they laughed and excused it by prioritizing the reparations towards the other nations (especially towards Air Nation). Having kids was so low on their priority list that they didn’t spare it much thought, nor did they want to. Yes, having an heir was necessary, and the Fire Sages were emphasizing this more with each assassination attempt Zuko survived, but there was no rush. Zuko had the full force of the chi-blocking Kyoshi Warriors, a master waterbender, the Avatar, a master swordsman, a master earth- and metalbender, and a master knife-thrower behind him. Anyone who dared oppose him would fail, of that the Gaang (Sokka’s name for them, expanded to include the Kyoshi Warriors) was certain.

And the Harmony Restoration Movement was giving him enough headaches as it was, anyway (and, by extension, Mai as well). There was no point in worrying about children when they were well-protected and had more pressing matters on their plate.

The Fire Sages were persistent, however, and Mai found out from a furious Katara that they’d been approaching members of Team Avatar in an attempt to circumvent the royals.

“What’d you do?”

“Threatened to freeze them if they tried it again. But I’d keep my eyes peeled, just in case they didn't get the memo.”

Zuko dropped a hint at the next meeting that if the Fire Sages dared ignore the wishes of their Fire Lord and Lady again, there would be severe consequences. Things were quiet for a while after that.

Zuko resolved the matter of the Harmony Restoration Movement rather quickly when he finally asked the Gaang for help. Things were dicey for a while, when he asked Aang to kill him, but Aang had more of a backbone now than when he’d first emerged from the iceberg, and Zuko was like his brother and always would be, so he staunchly refused. And when the Gaang and Mai found out, they sat Zuko down and scolded him for even _considering_ that they would ever jump to _killing_ him as a first response to his downfall. They also pushed him to see a therapist, and Mai made sure to check up on him every night, and it took time, but he started to feel lighter, a little less burdened.

The Fire Sages no longer brought up the need to have an heir, but Zuko and Mai had endeared themselves to the palace staff enough to know about the whispers. The sneers that perhaps the marriage was not as happy as presumed, that perhaps the Fire Lady had _already_ been pregnant when they wed (apparently, some in the Fire Nation were praying that this was true, and Zuko had never felt like committing murder more than in that moment).

But Mai reminded him that rumors were like kindling. Pay too much attention to them, and they would gain the power to set ablaze.

“Since when are you into proverbs?” Zuko teased.

“I’ve been befriended by a certain Air Nomad,” she replied with a smirk. “It turns out, he and your uncle speak the same language.”

“And you’ve picked it up?”

“Unfortunately.”

So they ignored the rumors and focused on the future. They kept the New Ozai Society at bay, Zuko chased leads of his mother, Mai condemned her father outright and saved her brother, her ex resurfaced and worked with her father for a while before betraying him and disappearing shortly afterwards, and in the end, the Gaang crushed the New Ozai Society (and later, the Safe Nation Society) such that they would never rise again. It was arduous work, and it took a few years, and this was by no means a permanent safeguard for them, but the threat was managed.

They then discovered who was behind the whispers among the people about the mysterious unborn (and not-yet-conceived) heir: the Fire Sages themselves.

After everything he, Mai, and the Gaang had done for the Nation, the Fire Sages were still preoccupied with an heir, and willing to spread nasty rumors to ensure they produced one. Zuko wished he could say he was surprised, but instead, he focused his efforts on the creation of the United Republic of Nations and enlisted Toph and Mai’s help in replacing the gossiping Fire Sages. When the Fire Sages protested, he simply said, “If you wanted my ear, you shouldn’t have insulted my wife.”

The Fire Sages who were appointed were inclined to leave him be on the matter of his heir, as he explained his plan for succession should he and/or Mai die. And finally, _finally_ , the couple felt like they had room to breathe. So, first, they went on dates in disguise, occasionally to Ba Sing Se when they could make the trip, but more often to the bustling restaurants in the Fire Nation itself, where they could flirt at a corner table without lowering their voices too much, laugh until their stomachs hurt, and still be somewhat unrecognized amid the loud chatter.

One night, they were sitting on the balcony, looking out at the moon. Zuko was telling the story to Mai that Sokka had relayed to him, about how one of the moon spirits was Princess Yue, formerly of the Northern Water Tribe.

“She was blessed by Tui and La,” he explained, “from birth. They saved her from death. I suppose she and her family took that to mean she owed them her life. And she was only 16…” as he trailed off, it occurred to him that Mai had been rather quiet. She hadn’t even piped up with the occasional snarky or heartfelt comment, nor had she even taken her gaze from a spot on the wall. “Mai?”

“Zuko…” Mai sighed, her brow furrowed. “Would you want to have kids one day?”

He blinked. “Uh...yeah, one day. When we’re both ready, when _you’re_ ready, I–”

“What if...I was ready now?”

“...Mai?”

She looked at him, with an expression of both hope and worry. “I’m pregnant.”

***

He was delighted, of course. How could he not be? He and Mai were going to bring another person into the world–a real human person!

But he was worried, too. They didn’t exactly have great childhoods growing up, they had no idea how to raise a child. When he expressed this to Mai, she squeezed his hand and said, “I’m scared too. I want to be a good mom...not like my mom. But I don’t know how else to _be_ , you know?”

He looked at Mai very seriously and said, “Do you want this? Really, and truly, do you want to have this child?”

She looked back at him, first startled, then serious like him, and nodded firmly. “I do. But I also want to do it right. I want our child to know they’re loved, always, and that they never have to earn it.”

“Then we’ll do just that.” He smiled and kissed her. “We won’t be like our parents, Firelily. We’ll find a way to be better.”

***

Princess Izumi was born in late spring, at the moon’s peak, with a quick but steady breath in her lungs. It had been a difficult birth for her mother, and a stressful event for her father, and the fact that she had even lived to breathe was a miracle in itself.

But then, the Fire Sages looked into Izumi’s eyes, saw no spark, and asked Zuko if he wanted to dispose of her himself or have them do it.

“What?” Zuko spluttered. “What are you talking about?”

“She has no spark, my lord,” one of them explained. “She’s not a firebender.”

“So what? She is a princess of this Nation and my daughter and heir.”

“You cannot have a nonbender heir,” another Sage snapped. “It has never been done!”

“I was presumed to be a nonbender upon my birth,” Zuko retorted sharply, “and I ask you to mind your tone. I am your Fire Lord and this child’s father. If you’d like to try appealing to my wife, I assure you, my feelings toward this pale in comparison."

Unbelievably, they tried just that, not even giving Mai the courtesy of sleep before approaching her. Mai, being both sleep-deprived and furious that they would propose infanticide, warned, “Get away from my daughter or she won’t be the one _disposed of_ today.”

“Believe me, she means it,” Zuko said coldly from the door, startling the Sages. “And so do I. One more step towards my wife or daughter, and I will not hesitate to incinerate you.”

“S-Sir?!”

“I believe I haven’t made myself clear enough.” His eyes flashed. “My comment about Mai was a _warning_ , not an invitation to torment her. Whether my daughter firebends or not, it doesn’t matter, because she is my heir, and she will always be my heir, no matter what anyone else says about it. Or do I not have the right to choose my own successor, to name _my own child_ as my heir? Is that right to be stripped from me, as both Fire Lord and a father?”

A few of the Fire Sages looked sheepish. “Apologies, Sir. We’ll be more tactful in the future.”

He nodded. “See that you do. And, I should add, if any harm should come to the Princess, I will be holding you partially responsible–possibly even _fully_ responsible, depending on your level of involvement. I would advise you to watch yourselves from now on.

“In case it has not been made clear enough in my actions, I am not my father, nor my grandfather, nor my great-grandfather. I am my own man, a different Fire Lord than them, and a different father. I would ask that you treat me as such. I consider your input valuable, but I will not tolerate slander on those I hold dear or overindulgence in my personal life. Is that understood?”

The Fire Sages nodded, though a few of them still looked surly. “Crystal, Sir.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I believe I have a daughter to meet and a wife to support.” As the Fire Sages bowed and exited, he sighed, then turned to Mai with a weary smile. “Sorry about that.”

“You might wanna be careful about unclear language in the future,” Mai teased dryly, making him laugh. “Now, would you like to hold your daughter?”

He nodded. “If I may, _my Lady_?”

Mai smiled, handing their little girl up to Zuko. “You may, _my Lord_. Her name is Izumi.”

Once Izumi was settled in his arms, he looked at Mai in amusement. “Izumi, really?”

She shrugged. “It seemed fitting. She has a name that represents her opposite element, so unity, and her name signifies where you and I first fell in love, so she would always know she had ours.”

“Thoughtful as always.” He grinned, though his eyes remained fixed on his daughter. “That sounds like the Mai I know and love.”

She smirked. “Getting sappy on me? Save that for Izzy.”

Zuko smiled at his daughter. “Hello, my little turtleduck. Don’t mind your mother. She loves us, really.”

“Debatable.” But he didn’t have to look up to hear the fond smile in Mai’s words. “Now, are you gonna take her, or do you want me to? I only ask because once I’m out, you won’t be able to wake me for hours.”

“You fed her, right?” He remembered from his own mother that a baby’s first bond should always be with their mother, and for a moment, he worried that he’d spoiled that.

“Yes, yes, I fed her, don’t get so worked up.” She smiled. “So?”

“So I’ll take her.” He leaned down to kiss her. “You just sleep, okay? Don’t worry about a thing.”

“You sap.” She laughed. “But okay, I trust you. Don’t drop her.”

“I won’t.”

“Don’t panic when she cries, just check her diaper or burp her.”

“I know, Mai.”

“And don’t–”

“We’ll be fine, Firelily. I promise.”

She assessed him in a manner similar to Toph when she was searching for deception, then relaxed back on the bed, seemingly satisfied with whatever she found. “You should bond with her anyway. I can tell you’re going to be easy for her to take advantage of, so might as well give her the chance.”

“Wha–what does that mean?!”

She laughed. “Go on now, shoo. I’m tired.”

He huffed but obeyed, Izumi secure in his arms as he exited, peeking in just once more to make sure his wife was asleep, and smiling softly to see her look so at peace. It was more common now to see her like this while awake, but it never failed to amaze him how all of her worries could just slip away in an instant when her eyes closed. In some ways, he envied her that.

A sharp tug on his hair from Izumi drew his attention away, and he laughed. “Sorry, Turtleduck. How about I show you around a bit?”

And so he did. He showed her the halls of the palace and his favorite paintings on the walls (he didn’t show her his least favorites, as those were the soon-to-be-burned portraits of his forefathers, and he never wanted her to see those). He showed her each room and crevice, explaining where he would hide away when he wanted a few moments to himself, and which room had the best bed for jumping, and where Iroh stored his sweets assuming that no one knew ( _really_ , Zuko thought, _he could’ve given me a little challenge. He’s stored them in the same place since I was little_ ).

Mai would probably kill him for showing their daughter the perfect places to enact mischief, but something about Izumi’s pleading expression forced those secrets out of him, and something about Mai’s words told him she’d expected this. He huffed. Was he really so easy to read?

“And this is the turtleduck pond, where the turtleducks live! Except you, of course, little one.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re _my_ little turtleduck, and you’re actually human, so you get to live in the palace with me and your mom!”

But Izumi caught sight of the turtleducks, who were squawking happily at her, and seemingly out of nowhere, she burst out crying.

“Oh! Oh, um..what’s wrong, Turtleduck?” The name only made Izumi cry harder, and Zuko winced. “Um...Izzy? Izumi? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Her crying didn’t abate, and Zuko flipped her on her stomach and over his shoulder, patting her back firmly in an attempt to burp her.

This only served to worsen Izumi’s sobs, and the turtleducks had swum away by now, likely annoyed by her crying. Zuko, on the other hand, felt his heart break. What had he done? What had he said? Was it because he said she couldn’t live with the turtleducks?

“Give her here.” He looked up to see Mai, exhausted yet firm, but before he could protest, she sighed and took Izumi from him, rocking her back and forth as she hummed a soothing melody. Izumi relaxed at her mother’s soft tone and gentle motions, eventually quieting and closing her eyes. Mai smiled at her then dropped down to sit beside Zuko. “The entire palace could hear her. One of the guards finally worked up the nerve to wake me just so I’d come and see what the fuss was about.”

“Mai, I...I’m so sorry,” he stammered, “I don’t...I was going to check her diaper next, but I–”

She sighed. “The problem wasn’t the diaper, Zu, she’s just exhausted. Really, I shouldn’t have given her to you so soon. Poor thing, she’s not used to all this yet.”

“O-oh…” Well, now he felt stupid.

She shrugged. “If you think you’re not a great father, then yeah, I guess you _are_ stupid.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Look, Zuko. What you did, when she was crying? The way you panicked and tried to soothe her in any way you could? That’s the mark of a great father. That’s the mark of a father who _cares_ , who might not have all the answers but still wants to try.” She smiled softly. “It’s leagues better than either of our fathers, I’ll tell you that.”

“That bar’s pretty low,” he noted.

She shrugged. “Gotta start somewhere. Would you rather start off as _worse_?”

“Good point.”

“Duh. I’m _full_ of good points.”

“Yes,” he agreed with a warm smile, “you certainly are. And Izumi’s your daughter as much as she’s mine, so she will be, too.”

“Hmm.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “And she’s as much your daughter as she is mine, so I pray she won’t be this sappy when she’s older.”

“Hey!”

**Author's Note:**

> This one took longer than I expected XD I had some writer's block on it for a while (I'm planning a Bumizumi AU, but that's not quite ready to be written yet, so I had to pull myself out of that and get a read on Canon Izumi). But here it is!
> 
> A few things:  
> -I know, I picked the most obvious title in the world, but I can't help it! Some lyrics are so perfect that they just demand it
> 
> -Katara threatening to ice one of the Fire Sages is an iconic moment, and something she'd definitely do for anyone in the Gaang and their kids. Also, Katara and Mai friendship rights!
> 
> -Mai and Aang friendship rights! Only hinted here, but definitely something I wanna expand on (also Aang and Ty Lee!)
> 
> -Kei Lo is Mai's ex here, and there's no dating, because Maiko is already married
> 
> -Also the promise from the comics is stupid and I won't equivocate on that. Don't try to change my mind, you won't succeed
> 
> -Maiko, in my headcanon, got married soon after the coronation after one too many comments reach Zuko's ears about them never being able to last. I also feel like they eloped and got married with only the Gaang and Iroh as witnesses, but that's not in the fic, so you can feel free to ignore it
> 
> -I know it seems random, but the Yue story just demanded to be there
> 
> -Firelily is based on a fic one of my Tumblr mutuals read, where Zuko gave Mai a fire lily as kids. Both of us love the nickname, so it's canon now
> 
> -The parallels between Izumi and Zuko being born at the moon's peak is very intentional! But it's also notable that she was born in summer, while he was born in winter. Make of that what you will (EDIT 2/13/21: I actually decided to make it late spring! Figured the symbolism of "new beginnings" worked better)
> 
> -You can't convince me Zuko didn't call Izumi "Turtleduck." I just don't believe you. He definitely did
> 
> They just make me so soft <3 Thanks for reading!


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